The three-time All-Star and 2007 National League Most Valuable Player had been part of the best decade of the franchise’s history. By and large, Jimmy Rollins has seen and been a part of a lot of proud moments for the Phillies.

Sunday might have represented rock-bottom for him.

“If there’s a bottom,” Rollins said after the Philies’ 12-4 loss to the Tigers at Comerica Park, “this has to be it. I can’t imagine things getting worse than they have this past week, culminating the way they did today.”

And yet, with the Phillies at 49-56 and dropping like a brick in the ocean, with trade discussions taking place that potentially might steer a handful of veterans to other clubs, Rollins made a clear statement about how he would feel if the Phillies asked him to accept a trade to another team.

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“There are still a couple of things I’d like to be No. 1 in for this organization,” the team’s all-time leader in doubles and games at shortstop said, “so until those things are done, I’m not going anywhere.”

The most significant team record within Rollins’ sights is for most hits. He has 2,127 knocks for the Phils, third-most in club history. With 91 more, he will pass the late, great Hall-of-Famer Richie Ashburn (2,217). Another 17 hits after that is the leader, first-ballot Cooperstown inductee Mike Schmidt. With good health and a regular hitting pace, Rollins should reach that mark in the first half of next season.

The legacy matters to Rollins, which is why he returned to the club with a three-year, $33 million contract before the start of next season, which includes a vesting option for 2015 that, health willing, will give him another $11 million. Rollins also has 10-and-5 rights, which means his 13 years’ experience with the same team has given him the right to reject any trade.

What Rollins doesn’t have is a say in what general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. does to the makeup of the Phillies’ roster. Third baseman Michael Young seems almost certain to go, and the veteran seemed to recognize that fact, with some teammates even shaking his hand as the team packed up to fly home to Philadelphia after the game. Young was flying home to Texas to be with his family on the Phils’ off day.

“I haven’t heard a thing,” Young said of the trade rumors swirling, including one that has the Orioles attempting to work out a deal. “I haven’t had any conversations with the Phillies up to this point. As far as I know, I’ll be ready to roll 7 o’clock Tuesday.”

Young might need to OK a deal that takes him to a team not cleared by his limited no-trade clause. He hasn’t had to have that discussion yet, but knows it could be coming.

“The first thing I want to do is talk to the Phillies about that,” he said. “Ruben has been very upfront with me since Day 1. Any conversation that has to do with trades will be with them first.”

Another player whose future hinges on the front office’s feel for the situation is Chase Utley, who has played next to Rollins in the middle infield for nearly a decade. Despite that close proximity on the diamond, Rollins hasn’t gotten a sense for where Utley is with his future – at least not yet.

“I have actually thought about asking (Utley),” Rollins said. “But, everyone goes through it their own way, and if he wants to be here, he’ll be here. That’s the way it is. If he doesn’t want to be here, he’ll have an opportunity if it pops up. But if he wants to be here, he’ll be wearing No. 26 playing second base next year.

Even as the Phillies hit the nadir of Rollins’ tenure, he insists something can be taken from it, and that this doesn’t have to mark the beginning of the Dark Ages for the club.

“There are some good things,” Rollins said. “You never hear me talk about the future, but now it is probably appropriate. We have so many young players getting their feet wet and understanding who they are, so that’s a bright spot. Our bullpen, (there are) growing pains, definitely. But that’s a positive because they get to learn. Unfortunately it’s happening at this level at this point, but it bodes well for the future.”

And, finally, there is Manuel. Aside from a brief stint with Terry Francona at the start of his career and an interim two games with Gary Varsho, Larry Bowa and Manuel are the only two big-league managers he has known. That seems destined to change in the coming months.

“It’s very rare you get to ride out on your high horse,” Rollins said. “That’s sports. You have highs and lows, and right now we’re low.

“No one wants to go out not being successful, but if this is his last year, he did what he was brought here to do, and that’s to make us contenders and bring us a championship, and he did that. The last two years have been a struggle. We haven’t been healthy and haven’t had a good product, honestly.”